Local musicians take the full-time plunge

Making music a full-time gig isn't easy, but it's worth it, say local musicians.

Dec. 9, 2012

'My move to be a full-time musician was a matter of survival and eventually, just as a river runs its course, I did, too,' said Michael Kirkpatrick, of Fort Collins band The Holler! Kirkpatrick, shown here in his home studio, said quitting his job as a river guide freed him to give music his full attention. / Stacy Nick/The Coloradoan

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Chris Anderson, a singer, guitarist and pianist for the Fort Collins band Fierce Bad Rabbit, is pictured in the music room of his Fort Collins home on Tuesday. Anderson recently quit his job at Jay's Bistro so that he could focus on being a full-time musician. / Rich Abrahamson/The Coloradoan

Chris Anderson, a singer, guitarist and pianist for the Fort Collins band Fierce Bad Rabbit, sits in his home studio on Tuesday. Anderson's move to being a full-time musician means tightening the financial belt a bit, he said. Recent 'splurges' include a new pick guard for his guitar and a piano. / Rich Abrahamson/The Coloradoan

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At age 12, Alana Rolfe began telling people she was going to play in a rock band when she grew up.

Family members thought it was something she’d grow out of — making it a hobby at most. But at 29, the viola player for Fort Collins indie-rock band Fierce Bad Rabbit took the leap, giving up her job and diving head-first into a career in music.

“I don’t play the Lotto. I don’t buy Powerball tickets. This is a big gamble, but it’s worth it,” said Rolfe, who worked as a business development analyst at Eltron Research & Development in Boulder up until last month.

Still, she admitted that giving up a regular paycheck is scary. “Most people my age have been working toward their career path for a while ... my career path is shaky.”

Sex, drugs and payrolls

In an effort to steady that “shaky” path, local musicians said they have learned they must embrace both business and creativity if they want to make a career in music. Sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll is replaced with taxes, payrolls and schedules.

Booking shows, making sure bills get paid and working with managers and publicists is almost a full-time job in and of itself, said Chris Anderson, 29, frontman for Fierce Bad Rabbit. Anderson recently quit his job of eight years at Jay’s Bistro. But just because the job ended didn’t mean the work did, too.

For the last few months, Fierce Bad Rabbit has been in the studio recording its upcoming CD, “The Maestro and the Elephant,” during the week and playing shows on the weekends. And navigating the ins and outs of the music industry can be a sharp learning curve.

“But now I love giving the band their checks,” Anderson said.

Timing it right

There’s never a perfect time for an artist to make music their job, said Gregg Adams, whose management company 2 Fat Farmers handles local bands including Fierce Bad Rabbit.

“When an artist feels that ‘it’s-now-or-never’ pull and can only envision giving their all to their true passion, that’s about the best indication that it’s time to take the plunge,” Adams said. “They also come to a realization that the business is bigger than just creating and performing music — they just don’t have time or energy to balance a 9-5 and the demands of the music industry.”

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That became clear to Michael Kirkpatrick this year. The frontman for Fort Collins band The Holler! quit his job of 15 years as a professional river guide. After 10 hours on the river, Kirkpatrick, 35, would hit the stage sunburned, dehydrated and with his vocal chords raw.

“It has nothing to do with hating your day job, it has everything to do with loving the music so much that you cannot stay away from it,” he said.

As a manager, Adams, who also works with Kirkpatrick, said he has found that musicians fall into two categories: true artists and those who just enjoy performing music. “The true artist has no choice but to pursue his/her dream at any cost, and I find them willing to immerse themselves to the degree necessary.”

Don't (completely) quit your day job

Despite putting out 10 records and having his songs featured in Hollywood soundtracks, singer-songwriter Jeff Finlin, 51, said he’s never been above taking on jobs that have nothing to do with a guitar and a stage.

“I’ve had good years and bad years, but I’ve always been willing to take a job when I needed it,” said Finlin, who spent 20 years working the Nashville music scene before moving to Fort Collins. “There is a fine line from being a wannabe and a working artist. To me, it’s a business, and if no one is showing up and listening then I have to do something else.”

Anderson and Rolfe have kept their options open for times when money gets tight. Rolfe works some for local music support organization SpokesBUZZ. Anderson takes the occasional bartender gig.

“It’s liberating getting to a point where you can pay your bills with your music,” Anderson said, adding “It’s nice to know that you’re no longer playing for a pizza — which every musician has done.” But when he asked The Subdudes’ John Magnie how he kept his head above water in the early years of his music career, Magnie told him: “I got really good at painting houses.”

Rock group

By February, all of the members of Fierce Bad Rabbit will be full-time musicians, a move that seemed a natural evolution, Rolfe said. Over the years the band has made every decision as a group, including deciding to go into debt to purchase a touring van and making the band an LLC, which allows it to work as both a partnership and a corporation.

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Success has to be a mutual goal, Adams said. Everyone has to have the same level of commitment.

For Kirkpatrick’s bandmates in The Holler!, quitting their regular jobs to pursue music was not a path that they were willing or able to follow. Jobs, mortgages and families all made the life of a full-time musician next to impossible.

It’s a reality that Kirkpatrick doesn’t relish, but one he understands. “I could never expect my bandmates to dive as deeply into the abyss as I did.”

Working on a solo project in his home studio has given Kirkpatrick the opportunity to go deeper into that “abyss.” During the next year he also plans to travel to Nashville to co-write songs, feel out different markets and connect with other musicians and industry insiders.

On your own

For solo artists, making the leap seems like it would be an easier decision but that’s not necessarily the case, said Fort Collins instrumental artist Maxwell Hughes. Right now, Hughes, 26, said he is holding on to his job at the Alley Cat Cafe but hopes his next CD, “Only in Dreams,” will take his career to the next level.

“I would like to be self-sustaining, even if that just means my bills are paid and I’m not eating Top Ramen every day,” he said. “I’ve tried (going full time) before and always fell a little short, but I know why — I always had one foot still on the ledge and was just reaching out as far as I thought I could.”

That’s why Hughes didn’t hold back when he launched an ambitious $20,000 Kickstarter campaign to fund the CD. The online platform, which asks the public to directly fund projects, is something more artists both amateur and professional are doing. Both FBR and Finlin raised funds for upcoming projects using Kickstarter.

Any art form requires an investment of time and money, Hughes said. Deciding when the investment is paying off enough is a tough call.

“That’s always the saddest thing to think about — breaking down the cost versus the payback,” he said. “It sounds selfish to say it but — and I don’t want to be famous or anything — but I really want to make a living by doing this thing that I’ve put so much time and effort into and that I love doing.”

And there’s something about losing that add-on to your title when someone asks what you do for a living.

It’s nice to no longer describe himself as a “musician-slash-waiter,” Anderson said. “If it’s between that and ‘I’m a musician,’ I’ll take ‘musician.’ ”